


the best parts of ourselves

by dusuessekartoffel



Category: Druck | SKAM (Germany)
Genre: Character Appreciation Weeks, don't mind me throwing it all in here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:54:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 13,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22232101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dusuessekartoffel/pseuds/dusuessekartoffel
Summary: My contribution to the Druck Character Appreciation Weeks on Tumblr. It's just a collection of short one-shots about these beautiful characters.
Comments: 24
Kudos: 56





	1. David – The Bravery of Freedom

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my contribution to David Appreciation Week. (In true procrastination fashion, it's only minutes from midnight on the last day of the week. I'd like to say I'll do better for the other characters but we all know I won't). 
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone who's helped with this, whether it was with ideas or with sending me words for the characters! I'm really grateful for all of you. 
> 
> I don't really know what this is, but I hope you enjoy.

**David – The Bravery of Freedom**

Some days, David feels like he is surrounded by brave people. Everyone, it seems to him, has more bravery in their little toe than he has in his whole body. Some days, David feels like he’s driven by fear. Like all he wants to do is run. Still. He wonders if he’ll ever stop wanting to run.

How can he ever be brave if all he wants is to be free of his fear?

There’s Laura, who isn’t afraid to kiss her girlfriend in public, or argue with people who get in her way, or demand another day’s time to pay the rent of their apartment.

“Bravery isn’t the absence of fear, you know,” Laura tells him when he asks her about it. She says it as if it’s a fact. As if it’s something he should know because everyone just knows it. “Bravery is doing things despite your fear.”

He thinks of her words when he runs away with Matteo and he decides to ignore his fear for once and just kiss this extraordinary boy in front of him. He’s still filled with fear after but he doesn’t let it get the upper hand for a few days. It doesn’t occur to him to think of himself as brave until he talks to Laura about it later and she uses that exact word to describe him.

There’s Matteo, who doesn’t see all the bravery that David sees in him, who never stops caring about people, who is learning to take care of himself even if it’s difficult.

Bravery doesn’t have to be loud, David learns from Matteo. It can be quiet and beautiful. David thinks his own bravery may be reserved. Quiet and slumbering inside him to awaken when he needs it.

“I don’t know what bravery is,” Matteo says. “I don’t think I have much of it.”

“I disagree,” David answers softly. “I think you’re one of the bravest people I’ve ever met.”

“No, you are.” Matteo says it as if he really, truly means it.

He thinks about David’s question for a moment and then he says: “I think it’s brave if you’re not afraid to be alone. But I also think it can be brave if you let people in. If you’re staying.”

David remembers their first conversation about being alone and how he ran away after. He remembers how afraid he was back then and how he still has his moments of fear. Fear of letting people too close even if he’s already let Matteo see every part of him. He knows it’s irrational but some days, he thinks it’s all a joke and Matteo will one day wake up and laugh at him for believing he could ever love him. Then he reminds himself that that is just his brain telling him bullshit and Matteo really does love him.

He's here now and he’s not leaving. David is looking at his boyfriend and they’re both smiling and he’s staying, staying, staying. He feels a tiny bit brave.

There’s Hans, who is as unapologetically himself as anyone could be, who doesn’t take shit from anyone, who is the proudest person David has ever met.

“Bravery is fighting for who you are,” Hans explains when he asks him. “Standing up and refusing to back down even if people try to force you to.”

David thinks it’s wonderfully poetic that they’re at Pride when Hans says those words. He thinks of himself and Matteo and Hans, of all the other people who have come before them and of all the people who are here with them now. He feels like he’s surrounded by bravery and for the first time, he feels like it’s an inherent part of himself.

There’s Abdi, who asks out girls without thinking twice about rejection, and Carlos, who isn’t afraid of the future at all because he has it all figured out, and Jonas, who would take a bullet for every single one of his friends.

“Bravery is standing up for what you believe in,” Jonas says as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. Maybe it is for him.

Those are the words that return to David when he’s trying to come up with a short film idea for his final assignment in his first semester at uni. When his idea first occurs to him, he’s nervous, not sure if he’s ready to do it. But then he does anyway. And so he ends up with a film about bullying at school and he includes his own experience in it. He’s scared when he hands it in but he also feels like he really gets what it means to be brave now. He gets the good part of it now. The part that allows him to let go.

There’s Sara, who doesn’t let any situation get her down, and Leonie, who is the fiercest person David knows.

“I think we all have bravery inside of us,” Leonie explains. “We’re just brave about different things. I don’t mind talking in front of people or standing up for my opinions. But there’s other ways in which I’m not brave at all.”

“I don’t believe that,” David laughs. If he had to pick the bravest person in his life, it would be Leonie.

“It’s true,” Leonie answers. “You’re a lot braver than me.”

“Please. In what ways am I braver than you?,” David wants to know.

“With feelings and shit. And being who you are. I really admire that about you.”

David thinks about her words a lot. He thinks back to the start of his relationship with Matteo, of how scared he was of his own feelings and how he still, somehow, couldn’t help letting Matteo in. It hadn’t felt brave back then. It had felt excruciatingly painful and wonderful at the same time. But now, he wonders whether he wasn’t brave all along.

He thinks of a stupid quote he read once, something with freedom and bravery. He doesn’t remember what it was about, but somehow, the idea of freedom and bravery being connected feels right. Maybe because it’s brave to be free. Or maybe because there’s freedom in bravery.

He thinks a lot about freedom. It’s something he’d always valued highly. He used to think it meant that he could always leave, if he wanted to. That he was never trapped. He used to chase freedom, to look for places where he felt free, where he felt like there was no need to run. But now he thinks that freedom isn’t going on a road trip or standing on top of a mountain and shouting into nothingness or having a door to back out of if life gets uncomfortable. Freedom is right here. It’s looking at his friends, at his family, and knowing that he won’t run.

And bravery isn’t free will. He has free will anyway. Bravery is in every fiber of his being, from his toes to his hair that Matteo keeps messing up. Bravery is in the fear that fills him to the brink, it’s in his refusal to let anyone dictate who he is, it’s in his beliefs about the world, it’s in his friendships and in all the love he gives Matteo, it’s in pouring his heart into the films he makes and the art he creates. Most of all, it’s in his freedom to choose to stay. 


	2. Sam – The Joyful Side of Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, this is uploaded at the very last moment again. Who could have predicted that?
> 
> Anyway, this is Sam. I don't like it as much as I like David's chapter, but oh well. I DO love Sam as much as I love David.
> 
> Big thank you to Olga aka Druckless for helping me with this!

**Sam – The Joyful Side of Fun**

Sam M’Pelé loves fun more than anyone. She loves being carefree and going out dancing and enjoying life. She loves her independence and staying up until it’s morning again and the thrill of meeting new people. She loves having fun.

Maybe that’s why she doesn’t like school, because it’s no fun. Sam is decidedly not made for school. She can count the subjects she enjoys on one hand. On one finger, really, because arts is the only subject she truly looks forward to. It’s there that she figures out that she wants to do something creative with the rest of her life.

The one thing Sam never ever wants to be is bored. She has more fun helping David with the costumes for his alien film than she did in all of her years at school combined. This feels like something she’s truly good at. It’s fun and creative and she’s not bored at all. With costume designing, it feels like she’ll never be, like there’s a never ending well of new things to discover. Like she’ll have fun for the rest of her life. It feels like she’s made for this, like it’s destiny. When her apprenticeship also goes over well, it really does start to feel like fate.

Her friends are happy for her. They joke about how it’s perfect for her, about how she’s found something she can truly have fun with. Then they joke about how she’s usually the one to make jokes.

Sam is the funny one in her friend group. She knows that. She’s the one who makes the others laugh, who is sometimes a bit too carefree and gets into awkward situations that her friends need to help her out of. Not the responsible one (Amira) or the nice one (Hanna) or any of those other stereotypes. Sam M’Pelé is funny.

That’s why she likes Abdi. He’s funny too. And it’s easy with him, most of the time. It’s nice. Especially when they decide to stay friends. Abdi is up for any adventure, for trying the weirdest things and exploring the weirdest places. Sam is glad to have him in her life. 

When Kiki celebrates her birthday, she orders them all to write down one thing that makes them happy, just for themselves. It’s typical of Kiki and Sam is happy to have her in her life. But she writes down something else. Her piece of floral paper that Kiki has given her reads “laughter.” 

When it’s Sam’s own birthday, Hanna writes her the nicest birthday card. She reminisces about everything they’ve been through together, all of their best moments, and then she ends the card with “It’s always so much fun with you.” Sam agrees wholeheartedly because Hanna is always the first person she laughs and jokes around with.

Mia can surprise her too though. When the other girls stand them up one night, Sam spends one of the funniest nights of her life with Mia. They laugh so much that they nearly fall out of Sam’s bed and then they laugh some more about that. 

She organises the welcome back party for Amira when she returns from Australia. It’s another thing she’s good at, organising things. Now that she’s out of school, it turns out there are a lot of things that she’s good at. But Sam is convinced that her friendships are one of the best things about her. When she finally sees Amira again, she hugs her like she never wants to let her go again. Sam loves all of her girls but there’s something special about her friendship with Amira. It’s the friendship that is both the most serious and the most fun out of all Sam’s friendships. She doesn’t think she’ll ever love anyone as much as she loves Amira.

It turns into a long night, that party. Sam ends up dancing wildly with Carlos and Jonas after all of their friends have settled down around them. She’s a bit drunk (because that’s fun too) and she’s filled with joy. At spending this night surrounded by her friends, at feeling free and happy, at having so much fun that she can feel it in every part of her body.


	3. Abdi – An Abundance of Jokes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost late again, yay. And I even started earlier this week but that didn't help either. Oh well, here's my contribution to Abdi Appreciation Week. I hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> Abdi doesn't have a sister canonically, but in my mind, he now has an older and a younger sister and that's that.

**Abdi – An Abundance of Jokes**

When he’s 16, a stranger he stumbles into a conversation with at a bus stop tells Abdi that he’s really funny. He has never considered himself particularly funny before. He likes to joke around, sure, and people laugh at his jokes, sure, but funny? Really, truly funny, so much so that a stranger who barely even knows him points it out? That is not something he is prepared for. He counters it with a joke.

For as long as he can remember, Abdi has made jokes. Around his friend, whenever he had to give a presentation at school, while trying to impress every girl he ever thought was cute. With jokes, he’s always felt safe. It’s something he can do, something he knows he’s good at. Something that makes others happy.

Well, most of the time. Sometimes he makes a joke and he can feel while he says it that it’s inappropriate or ill-timed. Sometimes Carlos shakes his head at him disapprovingly. But most of the time, his jokes are well received.

Abdi thinks that there is little else that makes him as happy as the sound of people laughing at his jokes. The knowledge that people appreciate his jokes and think he’s funny. That he’s bringing some joy into their lives. If he could bottle up that sound and listen to it over and over again, he would.

It doesn’t occur to him to bring his jokes to a wider audience until Sam suggests it. “You’re such a comedian, Abdi,” she laughs. And then she says: “You should do stand-up comedy.” Just like that. As if she hasn’t just thrown off the axis of his whole world.

He doesn’t dare to truly think about it at first. Just pushes it to the back of his head and ignores it. He can’t possibly do stand-up comedy. He’s not funny enough. People would laugh at him rather than at his jokes. No one would ever take him seriously again. There’s just no way.

But then Matteo mentions it as well. And then Kiki. And David. And they all sound so convinced. Like they believe in him. Like they’re rooting for him. Like they see him and this thing he’s doing and they think he’s actually good at it.

He tries to ignore it and when he can’t anymore, he asks Carlos about it. “Your mum should become a comedian,” Carlos laughs immediately. But then he gets serious. “I think you’d be brilliant at stand-up comedy, bro. Really. You’re the funniest person I know.”

“But what if my jokes are bad? Or mean? I don’t want to make mean jokes and offend people,” Abdi explains.

“What? No! You’re, like, a really correct dude. You’re not mean. At all. You’re super funny and your jokes are great” Carlos reassures him.

Abdi still doesn’t fully believe him but he thinks back to the stranger at the bus stop and to how he felt when he was telling everyone about his funny encounter at the supermarket the other week and how they all couldn’t stop laughing. A week later, Carlos convinces him to sign up for an open comedy night at one of their favourite bars. Abdi has never been more scared of anything in his life.

He spends days writing down every joke that comes to his mind, rehearsing all the openings and the punchlines down to the last word. He spends so much time talking in front of the mirror that his sister makes fun of him at breakfast. He doesn’t sleep at all the night before his performance.

As he steps onto the tiny makeshift stage at the back of the bar, he thinks he might die. He’s so nervous. But he tries to focus on his friends sitting in the first row, all of them here to support him. Jonas smiles at him and Carlos gives him a small thumbs up and Matteo and David look at him with so much anticipation that he can barely stand it. Abdi wants nothing more than to leave the stage and never make another joke again.

But then he starts talking. And people laugh. Not just his friends but people he has never seen before. And he thinks he might be good at this, at doing comedy. All nervousness is forgotten after the third joke and after the fifth, he starts to feel comfortable on stage. After his last joke, he doesn’t want to leave the stage at all. He can’t wait to be up there again. He’s never felt more at home.


	4. Kiki – Painful Growth, Beautiful Growth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few minutes before midnight on the last day, as always. Here is my contribution to Kiki Appreciation Week. I hope you like it!

**Kiki – Painful Growth, Beautiful Growth**

Kiki knows she isn’t perfect. She knows she makes mistakes and says the wrong things sometimes. She knows she can be an awful person. She isn’t proud of it, either. It makes her feel ashamed and horrible and that only makes everything worse and makes her lash out even more. She has a million imperfections and she hates all of them.

The worst thing is that she feels surrounded by perfect people. There’s Hanna, who is kind and sweet and always willing to help and there’s Mia, who is pretty and popular and has the strictest moral beliefs and there’s Amira, who is intelligent and faithful and knows exactly who she is and there’s Sam, who is funny and beautiful and full of life. And there’s Kiki, who is really not any of these things, not particularly kind or pretty or intelligent or funny. Just imperfect.

And so she says the wrong things sometimes and she knows it hurts people. And sometimes, she doesn’t even care, and that makes it even worse. Sometimes, she thinks she’s turning out like her mother and that is the last thing she ever wants. Sometimes, she feels like a monster and she wonders why anyone can even stand her, most of all herself.

But she’s learning. She starts to see that Hanna is always there for everyone except for herself and that she’s sometimes lost. She realises that she can also help people, that she has her own qualities that bring light into other people’s lives, just like Hanna does. She learns that friendship is more important than being popular or well-liked and that being with her friends makes her happier than being part of some popular crew.

She’s growing. She starts to see that Mia isn’t as perfect as she seems, that she makes mistakes too, that she doesn’t know the answer to everything either. She realises that she doesn’t have to measure herself against Mia, that she doesn’t have to try to compare to her. She learns that forgiveness brings her peace and that Mia is just as deserving of forgiveness as she herself is. 

She’s improving. She starts to see that life isn’t always kind to Amira, just like life hasn’t always been kind to her. She realises that apologising for your mistakes is important and that it’s even more important to try to do better than yesterday and follow your words with deeds. She learns about strength and resilience from Amira but she also learns about love and support from her.

She’s understanding. She starts to see that while Sam is really funny and the life of every party, she has her own insecurities and struggles. She realises that sometimes, the things she says hurt Sam, that just because Sam seems confident and tough, that doesn’t mean her words don’t have an impact. She learns to be kinder, to herself and to others, and she learns to listen more.

Kiki learns to appreciate herself more and when she gets better at that, she learns that it makes it so much easier to appreciate others more. It opens up doors, to let more love and more colour into her life. She is learning and growing and improving and understanding and it’s not always easy or pretty but it’s good. She’s becoming happier and it’s all thanks to the people in her life. Carlos tells her that she’s opening up like a beautiful flower and she thinks she should punch him for it because it’s cheesy and stupid but maybe it’s true.

Kiki knows she isn’t perfect. She knows she makes mistakes and says the wrong things sometimes. She knows she needs to stick up for her mistakes and apologise when she’s said the wrong things. She knows it doesn’t make her an awful person to mess up and do the wrong thing every now and then. She knows it makes her a better person because she is constantly learning and growing and improving and understanding.

Kiki knows she’ll never be perfect. Now, she knows that she doesn’t have to or want to be perfect. She is an imperfect person surrounded by imperfect people and there is its own kind of beauty in that.


	5. Jonas – The Affections of Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm late with this one, which was really only a matter of time with this project. Luckily, time is an illusion and it's also still Sunday in a lot of places, so we'll just go with that and say I wasn't late.
> 
> Anyway, this is Jonas and I'm not super into it, but it is what it is. I love Jonas and his optimism a lot though, he's one of my favourites.

**Jonas – The Affections of Hope**

If there is one thing that Jonas Augustin is full of, it’s hope. Hope and the deep belief that the world can and will be a better place and that you need to fight for it. And also a lot of love for his friends.

That’s how Abdi describes him in French class. _Il est optimiste et il est un bon copain. Il adore Abdi avant tout_ _._ He earns a loving punch on his arm for the last part.

Jonas spends a lot of time thinking about that first sentence, though. Is that what his friends think of him? That he is an optimist and a good friend? It’s not bad, he supposes. It’s really nice, actually. Especially the good friend part, even if he’s not sure Abdi didn’t add that just to talk about himself.

But optimism? What does that even mean? He’s not sure that optimism doesn’t also carry the side meaning of naïve. That it isn’t just an empty phrase used to describe someone who doesn’t see reality the way it is. And he’s not sure that that’s who he wants to be. Yes, he wants to change the world, but he also sees that changing the world isn’t easy. That it doesn’t happen just like that.

Jonas does consider himself to be a positive person, he really does. He thinks there’s a lot of good in the world. There’s a lot of good in people. He probably should consider himself an optimist. But he thinks back to when someone wrote down _optimistic_ right next to _cares a lot, maybe too much_ and _is too passionate about politics sometimes_ in his Abi book comments, and he starts to question whether being optimistic is really what he wants to be.

So he asks Matteo. _Do you think I’m optimistic?_ And the answer he gets is: “I don’t know, man. I don’t really think about what you are, honestly.”

“Well, that’s helpful,” Jonas rolls his eyes. “But seriously? Would you say I’m optimistic?”

“Sure,” Matteo answers and Jonas thinks it might not have been the best idea to ask him that question while they’re both high.

So he asks Hanna. _Do you think I’m naïve?_ And she’s only marginally more helpful: “If you’re naïve, I’m super naïve.”

“I don’t think you’re naïve,” Jonas quickly answers because that’s the right thing to say and also because it’s what he believes. “But seriously, do you think being optimistic is naïve?”

“I don’t know, Jonas,” Hanna sighs. “Do you think I’m an optimistic person?”

“Yes, I do,” Jonas answers truthfully.

“Well, then I guess we’re both naïve,” she says and kisses him and he’d really like to continue the conversation but he’s also not complaining.

So he asks David. _Do you think I care too much?_ And he gets serious and says: “I think you care a lot, about a lot of things. And I think that can be hard sometimes, and painful, but I also think caring is good. Feeling things is good.” 

“So I do care too much?,” Jonas wants to know.

“I didn’t say that,” David clarifies. “I don’t think caring too much is really a thing. I think we all just care about stuff and sometimes it gets overwhelming and that’s okay.”

“You’re wise, man,” Jonas replies and David laughs at that and shakes his head but Jonas knows he’s right.

So he asks Carlos. _Do you think I’m too passionate about politics?_ And he just laughs as an answer and says: “Fuck if I know.”

“You’re all super unhelpful,” Jonas complains.

“Why are you even thinking about that, bro. You’re into politics and changing the world and all that, bla bla bla. That’s good, right? That makes you a good person,” Carlos tries a bit more.

“Did Kiki teach you that?,” Jonas asks doubtfully and Carlos kicks him for that but he also doesn’t deny it. Jonas leaves it at that and they continue playing their video game without talking.

So he finally asks Abdi. _What did you mean when you said I’m an optimist?_ And Abdi laughs and says: “Bro, I just didn’t know what hopeful meant in French. That’s how I wanted to describe you.”

“So you don’t really think I’m an optimist?,” Jonas asks and it’s like breathing out a sigh of relief.

“No, I do think you are. I don’t think that’s bad though. Like, I’m definitely an optimist too. And life is good that way. I’m happy.”

Jonas smiles at that and he thinks that Abdi is right. Being an optimist isn’t bad at all. Even if it comes with being a bit naïve. Everyone is a little naïve sometimes, and there’s worse things to be naïve about than caring too much or being too passionate.

“Wait, you wanted to describe me as hopeful?,” he then asks, because he only just realises what Abdi has said.

“Yes, dude. You’re like the most hopeful person I know. You’re full of hope.”


	6. Amira – Queen of Resilience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few minutes before midnight, as usual. Here's Amira. Shoutout to my friends who have to answer my weird questions about the Druck characters every Sunday at 11 pm and always give me helpful answers that I'm even allowed to use here. 
> 
> Also, fun fact about this chapter: Sana is one of the characters I relate to the most from Skam and I never had that with Amira. And then I wrote this and suddenly realised that actually, I do relate to Amira quite a lot too. (She's just way cooler than I am.) 
> 
> Another fun fact: I don't know much about flowers, so this is all Google and my friends. If you notice any mistakes, don't hesitate to tell me.

**Amira – Queen of Resilience**

Amira hates metaphors. That’s why, when her mother says she’s like a flower that is growing in the face of all adversities, all she wants to do is throw up. She’s nothing like a flower. She’s certainly not some kind of beautiful thing that’s thriving despite all hardships. She’s just Amira, doing what needs to be done, getting through what life throws at her because what other option is there?

Amira knows who she is. She knows exactly. She knows her faith and her intelligence and her love for the people around her. She knows she fights for what she wants and doesn’t give up easy. She knows what she believes in and she sticks to it. She knows she can get through the hard things because she knows herself and she knows what she’s capable of.

But Amira has always relied a bit too much on herself and a bit too little on other people. It’s not that she doesn’t like her friends. Or that she doesn’t trust them. She just trusts herself more. It’s always been that way. When she has to do a group project at school, she always wants to do everything herself. When she gets her heart broken, she keeps it all to herself. When she’s in Australia and she’s missing her friends, she doesn’t tell them. She just looks at all of the pictures she has with them and misses them with all her heart.

That’s why, when she’s home again after the adventure of a lifetime, her mother says she’s a flower. A dandelion of all flowers. As if all of this couldn’t get any more cheesy. It’s like some saying that you can buy written on postcards or mugs. With a cheap picture of a dandelion to accompany it. Terribly corny.

But Amira is still curious. If she was a flower, any flower, what would she be? Not a stupid dandelion, but a proper flower. A big striking one or a small unnoticeable one. Or something in between. Not that it matters because she isn’t a flower. She still asks her friends.

Kiki tells her she’s an orchid. Bright and beautiful. Always catching people’s eye, admired by everyone. Deserving of the admiration. When Kiki says it, Amira has to catch her breath because she never expected someone to see her like that and Kiki says it like it’s the most certain thing in the world.

Hanna says she’s a tulip. Colourful and manifold. Bringing sunshine and light with her. A flower you wouldn’t want to miss. Hanna smiles at her and Amira thinks that really, she’s the tulip, always cheering everyone up. They plant tulips in Hanna’s backyard and watch them bloom together in spring.

Mia thinks about it for a while and then she comes up with rose campion. Small but fierce. Bringing colour everywhere. She has to show Amira a photo of the flowers on her phone because she doesn’t know what Mia means and then they look up different flowers and assign them to all their friends and laugh more than Amira thought she could about flowers, of all things.

Sam is convinced she’s a daffodil. She’s not letting anyone disagree with her. When Amira asks her about it, all she says is: “Because they’re my favourite.” Amira hugs her and for Sam’s next birthday, she gets her bellflowers. “Those are _my_ favourite,” she explains.

But secretly, Amira thinks she’s none of those. Not that she is a stupid flower. She isn’t. It’s a metaphor. A silly metaphor. It doesn’t mean anything. She doesn’t even know why she keeps thinking about it. But if she was a flower – theoretically, if she didn’t mind the metaphor, which, for the record, she does – she thinks she would be a gladiolus.

It can survive winters, withhold a lot. Grow in many different places. Just like her. She’s thriving in Germany and she’s thriving in Australia and she’s going to thrive everywhere she’ll go in her life. (Which is many places, if you’ll believe Mohammed, who believes in her like no one else does. Not even herself.)

So she finally asks Mohammed, not because she cares about flowers but because she’s curious what he’ll say.

“What kind of flower do you think I am?”

Mohammed smiles at her, his most beautiful smile, the one that’s reserved for her only, for moments like this one. It’s a smile that contains all of his heart, laid bare before her, and sometimes she has to look away because she can barely stand it. But not today. Today she smiles back. (How she’s missed smiling back at him, properly, when they’re both in the same place.)

With absolute conviction, like he’s thought about this and is certain of his words, he says: “You’re a gladiolus.”

She finds a bunch of them on her doorstep the next day.


	7. Carlos – Lucky Vibes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another week, another late night character appreciation fic. Here's Carlos and his vibes.

**Carlos – Lucky Vibes**

If there is one thing Carlos Schmidt is good at, it’s reading the vibes. The vibes in a room, the vibes between his friends or between them and other people. He picks up on things. His friends not feeling great or being in situations they don’t want to be in. He gives good advice, or so he’s been told. Kiki says it’s because he’s full of compassion, but he shrugs that off. It sounds a bit too uncool. Because really, for as much as he can feel the vibes and is compassionate, Carlos is also a bit of an idiot sometimes. (Kiki’s words.)

If there’s another thing he’s really good at, it’s being lucky. Sometimes, he feels like he and Abdi are opposite sides of a coin. Abdi gets into the most unfortunate situations, loses both his shoes and himself on nights out, has one mishap after the other. Carlos gets lucky all the time. He gets out of the most unfortunate situations without even really trying, he wins every game of Monopoly he plays, he finds a 10 Euro note on the pavement at least once a year.

Even when he fails his Abitur, he considers himself lucky after he thinks about it for a while. Sure, he didn’t plan on failing. But really, it’s a blessing in disguise, because what would he have done at university anyway? Like this, he’s following his passions and doing what he wants to do with his life, and if that isn’t lucky, he doesn’t know what is.

But the thing he considers himself luckiest about is the person next to him. He would never ever have thought that he would end up with Kiki Machwitz, but he did. Somehow, the universe has made them find their way to each other. (He doesn’t tell the boys that he thinks that, but he does tell Kiki, one evening, when they’re cuddling on their sofa in their own apartment and he’s more in love with her than he’s ever been.)

The vibes between him and Kiki are definitely right, he knows that with absolute certainty. Sure, they fight sometimes and she drives him to insanity on the regular, but she also makes him happier than he ever thought he could be. She makes him a better person, which is another thing he would never tell the boys because it sounds so cheesy, but it’s true. She makes him get up in the morning and look forward to any day he gets to spend with her.

And she teaches him new things, teaches him how to notice when things are off or how to act when his friends are struggling. Paying attention to Kiki and how she’s feeling makes him better at paying attention to how his friends are feeling. And there’s nothing he likes more than noticing that his friends are happy again after going through a rough time.

If the vibes between Sara and Matteo weren’t right, they’re all the better between Matteo and David. If the vibes for Jonas being high constantly weren’t right, they’re all the better when Jonas starts doing sports regularly. If the vibes for Abdi casually hooking up with Sam weren’t right, they’re all the better when they decide to break up and Abdi eventually falls in love again with someone who gives him everything he wants from a relationship.

He doesn’t always tell them, if he notices that something isn’t quite alright. Sometimes, he just tries to support them silently, being there for his friends when they want to talk to him. Sometimes, he tries to nudge them gently, tries to make them open up. Sometimes, he puts his foot in it and gets everything wrong. That’s alright too. Kiki teaches him that learning and growing is important, that it doesn’t make you a bad person if you make a mistake as long as you stand up for it and learn from it. She learnt that from her friends and he couldn’t be more proud of her.

So he learns and he talks to his friends and he sees how his friends are struggling and how they’re getting better. He trusts his instincts, when it comes to his friends and when it comes to himself. He trusts his lucky vibes.


	8. Mia – The Coldness of Independence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, this is the most personal we've gotten here yet. Mia is one of the characters from Druck I relate to the most and it's definitely influenced this.   
> I hope you enjoy!

**Mia – The Coldness of Independence**

Mia prides herself on her independence. She doesn’t need anyone. She’s happy on her own. Of course, she loves her friends and she loves her flatmates and she loves Alex and she wants them to be a part of her life. But if they left, theoretically, she could get by on her own. She’s good like that. Alone. She can rely on herself. She knows herself best.

Mia firmly believes that she doesn’t need anyone to fight her battles for her. Not her parents, not her friends and especially not a man. That would just go against everything she believes in. She doesn’t need anyone else, that’s what she’s convinced of. So she has her friends and her flatmates and Alex and they’re all important to her but the only person she relies on is still herself.

What Mia doesn’t think about is that sometimes, she is lonely. Sometimes, she feels like she relies on herself a little too much, like she lets her friends see a bit too little of herself. Sometimes, she just wants to reach out to someone and talk about all her worries and get a hug. Sometimes, being independent feels really, really cold. The only thing that counters it, to her own surprise, is the warmth of the people in her life.

Hanna is ostracised by the entire school for a week and Mia sticks with her without a second thought because that’s what friends do. She thinks about that when it’s all over, how there was no moment of doubt about what she’d do and about how maybe, it’s the same for Hanna when it comes to her.

Sam is almost the opposite of Mia when it comes to being alone. She tells her how she hates it more than anything, how she sometimes feels that she always needs to surrounded by people. Mia jokes about how she could learn something from Sam but when she gets home and thinks about it, she realises she wasn’t joking at all.

Kiki gets hurt more than anyone else by Mia. And yet, she gets up again and falls in love again and doesn’t let the hurt of being vulnerable beat her down. Mia admires her more than anything for that, even if she doesn’t tell her. She realises that she should, when Kiki tells her that she admires her independence.

Amira tells her about falling in love and it’s like she’s a completely different person. Mia had always assumed that out of all their friends, Amira got how she was feeling the most. That Amira valued independence as much as she did. And she knows that’s true, that Amira is probably the most independent person she knows. What she never thought about before Amira was that independence and love are not exclusionary. 

Hans has no shame and nothing he hides from her and it takes Mia a while to realise that that isn’t just Hans’ personality but his inherent trust in her. He is always himself around her in a way that he isn’t around everyone and she learns to appreciate that. She tries to be more unapologetically herself because of him.

Linn loves being alone more than anyone that Mia knows but when they talk about being alone one night, Mia realises that Linn’s way of being alone is different from hers. Linn is alone because she enjoys it. Mia is alone because she feels like she has to. 

Alex reaches out to her when he’s at his lowest and lets her see all of him. And when she falls asleep next to him that night, she realises that letting people in can be the only way to survive sometimes.

So slowly, she learns that she can open up to her friends and it doesn’t make her any less independent or strong. She can let people in and she’s still herself, still Mia who takes no bullshit from anyone and looks out for herself and the people around her.

She learns that she needs to trust in herself, not just when it comes to being independent but also when it comes to opening up. She needs to trust her instincts and sometimes, she needs to shut off her brain and follow her heart.

Mia is still independent. She could still survive everything on her own. But she learns that she doesn’t need to. That she can rely on the people in her life and it doesn’t mean that she can rely on herself any less. It just means that she doesn’t have to rely on herself only. And that shows her that life is a lot brighter when you have people around you who will be there for you no matter what happens, just like she’s always there for them.


	9. Matteo – The Gentleness of Loving Yourself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a bit nervous about this one, but here's Matteo. He's one of the easiest and hardest characters to write about at the same time. I feel like he's a part of me at this point.

**Matteo – The Gentleness of Loving Yourself**

Matteo is used to hiding. He’s used to hiding what he’s doing, how he feels, who he likes. He’s always hiding something, from someone. That he hasn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in weeks (Hanna, when she sounds a bit too concerned). That he likes Jonas just a little bit too much (Jonas, when he asks him about who he thinks is the hottest girl at school). That he doesn’t believe in God at all (his mother, when she tries to get him to come to church with her).

And most of the time, he likes it like that. He likes to hide. It feels like he’s playing a game and he’s gotten damn good at it. It’s not even hard anymore. It’s not even exhausting, really. Not if he thinks about how exhausting it would be to let people see him. About how much worse that would be.

It’s just that sometimes, he’s really tired of hiding. All he wants is to lay every last part of his heart bare for someone to see. (Not that he lets himself think that.) He knows that Jonas isn’t that person. He knows Sara most definitely isn’t. He has almost given up hope, has almost convinced himself that living a lie and hiding parts of himself is something he can keep doing for the rest of his life, when he sees a mysterious boy in the hallway and his heart stops for a second before beating like it never has before.

David makes him want to show him every last part of himself without ever making him feel like he’s forcing him to do something. David makes him want to open up, to fully be himself, simply by existing. It’s like David is inspiring him to be a better person without even doing anything. (It’s a cheesy saying he’s heard Kiki tell Carlos once and he made fun of her then but deep down, he thinks that maybe it’s true.)

“You have a lot of love inside of yourself,” Amira tells him once. “I’m glad you get to give it to someone now.” And then she laughs at herself and shakes her head and murmurs something about Sam and Kiki turning her soft . Matteo makes fun of her, of course, but he does it in a nice way, because that’s how their friendship works. She makes fun of him for being a sappy idiot in love in return.

He talks to Hans one night, about how for Hans, every tiny show of affection in public is a tiny moment of rebellion. Being himself is an act of rebellion. Matteo admits that he’s never thought of it like that. “That’s the biggest act of rebellion,” Hans tells him.

Matteo feels more like himself every day. He starts to make jokes about being gay around his friends and when he notices that they find it funny, he keeps making them. He also talks to them about his feelings now. He tells his mother that he doesn’t want to go to church with her but that he wants to see her. He talks to Hanna about how he’s feeling and tells her about the therapist he’s started seeing. He laughs more freely and he talks more freely and he feels more comfortable in his own skin than he ever has before.

“It’s nice to see you be more yourself,” Abdi says to him when they’re slightly drunk and looking for their friends one night. “I’m happy you feel comfortable enough around us now.” It’s a sweet moment they share, one of the rare, genuine ones in between all the jokes and laughter of their friendship. Matteo offers him another beer because he doesn’t know how else to go about sincere moments with Abdi.

He opens up to the boys about his family, about his own struggles, about the way he’s feeling sometimes. It’s not easy at first but he’s glad he tells them. They’re immediately ready to support him through anything and he realises that he feels the same way about them. He would never, ever tell them but he appreciates them more than anything.

“The vibes are right now, you know?,” Carlos grins at a party at his and Kiki’s flat. “Between David and me?,” Matteo asks. “No, between you and us.” Matteo laughs because it’s supposed to be funny but he excuses himself and takes a moment to calm down and breathe deeply in the bathroom. David finds him and Matteo knows he understands him without even explaining how he feels.

Before David, Matteo didn’t think he could ever let someone love him, truly, every part of him. He didn’t think anyone would want to. Not when they found out about his bad days or his family or what an asshole he can be. But what he realises when he falls in love with David is that it’s easy to love people. It’s the easiest thing in the world to love David. It makes it a little easier to love himself.

“I love seeing you in love, Luigi,” Jonas tells him fondly, one night, after David has left to go home to Laura and it’s just the two of them. “It’s like you finally love yourself the way you deserve.” Matteo doesn’t say anything but they both know about all the things he doesn’t say. He thinks about that, about loving himself and he thinks he’s not quite there, but he’s on his way.

Matteo has spent so much time being afraid of letting other people see him that when he does, he expects something bigger to happen. In the end, it’s just that. Letting people see him like he is. And it’s like breathing out the biggest sigh of relief but it’s also really small, so much easier than he thought it would be. It’s like he only realises what a toll hiding himself took on him when he stops hiding. He never knew how easy it could be to be himself. 


	10. Hanna – Kindness Running Through Every Vein of Yours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, it's … it's only half past eleven. Is this real? Is this me actually uploading without counting down the minutes to midnight? I can't believe it either. 
> 
> So, here's Hanna! She's one of my favourite characters from Druck, I love her season and I love her as a character. So I hope this somehow does her justice.

**Hanna – Kindness Running Through Every Vein of Yours**

If you’d ask Hanna what she’s good at, she’d say the following: gardening, making mistakes, ruining things, cooking. Not necessarily in that order.

She ruins her friendship with Leonie by falling for Jonas and it’s all a big mess. She loses her best friend and her reputation and most of all, she loses her belief in her own goodness. She always thought she was a kind person, someone who looks out for others and is nice to everyone. That doesn’t go with the new picture of herself in her head, the one where she’s a cheater and a terrible person.

She ruins the relation to her dad and it makes her feel lonely. She spends most of her time alone, in a house that’s too big if she’s the only one occupying it, that leaves her with too much space to think about her mistakes and where everything went wrong.

She ruins her relationship with Jonas by kissing Sam and it feels like she’s finally getting what she deserves. Like it’s what karma has cut out for her, as retaliation for what she did to Leonie. It makes her the outcast at school and it feels terrible but it also feels deserved. It feels like, maybe, it will finally enable her to get rid of her guilt.

But she has her friends, who are there for here and don’t leave her, even if it gets difficult. Who stand up for her and show her that she’s not alone. That she still has people to rely on. It feels like a dream at first, like it’s not real after all. Like there couldn’t possibly be that many people who love her as she is.

But she learns that it’s true because she looks at herself and she realises that, with all their flaws, she loves the people in her life. She loves pretentious Mia, carefree Sam, judgmental Amira, selfish Kiki, deceitful Matteo, opinionated Jonas. She loves them with all their flaws and despite all the mistakes they make. She forgives them if they mess up because she knows they’re human.

She doesn’t think to apply that to herself until she realises that she can’t keep on feeling guilty for the rest of her life. She realises that she doesn’t deserve it at all if people talk bad about her or shame her for the mistakes she made. That she doesn’t deserve to be alone or to feel terrible just because she made a few mistakes. That if she owns up to her mistakes and learns from them and tries to do better, that’s enough. And she’s willing to do that.

It takes some time, but she forgives herself for what happened with Leonie, for distancing herself from her father, for cheating on Jonas. She reaches out to Leonie, talks about things with her, gradually starts to be casual around her again. She spends Christmas with her dad and it feels like they’re growing closer again. She calls him more often than before. She stops feeling guilty about Jonas not taking their break-up well because she realises that it’s not her fault.

She also forgives others, for how they hurt her. She forgives Leonie for making her feel horrible for months, she forgives her father for not being there for her enough, she forgives Jonas for making her feel guilty in their relationship and after, she forgives Matteo for going behind her back. She forgives them, because she believes it’s the right thing to do and because she believes, fundamentally, that people deserve forgiveness. That people are good.

She tries to be as kind as she can, to help others as much as possible, to listen and give advice and support others. And it makes her be kinder to herself, listen to what she wants and needs more. It makes her like herself more, so much more.

If you’d ask Hanna what she’s good at, she’d say the following: cooking, caring about others, listening, being kind, helping others, gardening. Not necessarily in that order.


	11. Laura – Home Is Where Your Guardian Angel Is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good evening/night/day! It feels like forever (what even is time?) but here's my little Laura Appreciation fic. Writing about side characters that are in only about three scenes is definitely harder than writing about prominent characters and so this is mostly based on my own imagination and probably all the stuff I'm projecting onto Laura. Either way, I hope you enjoy this and I'm sorry I didn't mention Laura being a lesbian, but we all know it in our hearts anyway.

**Laura – Home Is Where Your Guardian Angel Is**

Laura Schreibner is used to taking care of people. She’s the mom friend, always the one who looks after others, makes sure you don’t do something stupid, holds your hair when you’re throwing up, gives you advice for any situation you might find yourself in because she’s the first person you go to if you have a problem. It’s what she does. It’s what she’s always done.

And she loves it. Laura loves being there for people and helping them. She loves that she’s the person her friends call if they need a tip or someone to talk to. She loves that she can help the people around her, make them feel better or let them spill out all their sorrows. She loves when David comes to live with her and she has her little brother to look after. (Even if, of course, he’s basically grown up and can look after himself. Except for when he tries to cook and almost sets their kitchen on fire.)

But sometimes, it all gets a bit too much. Sometimes, she just can’t take another one of her friends showing up on her doorstep and expecting her to be there, with tea and warmth and all of herself. It used to feel impossible to tell people No, to take a step back from caring about everyone. To put herself first. It used to feel selfish, like she was the most horrible person on earth for not being able to care more.

It’s David, the person she’s officially supposed to look after, who teaches her that she can’t only care about others and not herself. He doesn’t even realise, she’s certain. He just talks about how one of his favourite Youtubers has uploaded a new video where they talk about selfcare and saying No if things get too much. That it’s not selfish to do so, but necessary.

Laura looks the video up later, when David has vanished to his room to play some new video game he’s obsessed with. She can’t help but cry, a little, because she feels so seen. Because, for the first time, she feels like she has the right to say No if her friends ask her for something she can’t give them. She watches it a second time, and then a third, and a fourth.

She gets better at regulating how she acts around her friends. She starts telling them how she feels, how sometimes things get too much even for her, how she can’t be there for them constantly. And she’s surprised by how much her friends give her in return, how ready they are to support her, to be there for her in the way she’s always there for them. She gets better at being there for her friends while also being there for herself. 

When David has broken his own heart and run away from the boy he’s in love with, she spends the entire night comforting him, eventually falling asleep in his bed like they used to do when they were children. When she wakes up the next morning, David is not at home, but there’s breakfast and a short note addressed to “my guardian angel.” She can’t help but smile a little, remembering how he used to call her that when he was still a child and she was protecting him on the playground or from the fights their parents were having.

He comes back later and they talk some more, about how he’s feeling, how he’s missing Matteo, what their plans for Easter are. David makes sure that she’s comfortable, that he’s not asking more of her than she can take. She assures him that, whatever happens, she’s always there for her little brother, teenage mess that he is.

It doesn’t take long for David to end up with Matteo, to be happier than she’s seen him in a long time. He brings her flowers, one day, to thank her for being there for him. Potted flowers, because he knows she likes those more than ones that will die in a week. (As if their apartment isn’t too full of plants already anyway.) He calls her guardian angel again, because that’s what he does.

But what David doesn’t know is that, really, it’s the other way around. He’s her guardian angel.


	12. Hans – Guru of Self-Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing about Hans and also uploading this feels a bit weird with the news we got yesterday. I'm sad and heartbroken like we all are, but I'm also not going anywhere. Character appreciation fics will keep happening just like we'll all keep loving these characters.   
> With that being said, I am a bit out of it at the moment, so this is a tad shorter than usual. I feel sorry for Hans but I hope I still somehow did him justice. 
> 
> I hope you're all doing alright! I'm sending you all my love and support. <3

**Hans – Guru of Self-Love**

If there is one thing Hans is full of, it’s love. He always has love to spare for everyone. For his flatmates, his friends, his friends’ friends, every new person he meets. There’s always a little bit of love left, for everyone, no matter who you are.

Hans is the person who cheers you up if you’re down. He’s always ready to party and celebrate if something good is happening to you or you need a distraction. He has a lot of advice up his sleeve that is always meant well, even if not everything always goes to plan. Hans’ place is a place full of love and everyone who knows him knows that.

And so, naturally, Hans should feel like his life is full of love. He has a lot of great people in his life, truly. A lot of people who are there to cheer him on and party with him and give him advice. He is never really alone, always surrounded by people and excitement.

But the truth is, some days, Hans doesn’t feel that loved. Some days, he feels like he needs to be a different person, pretend he’s someone else only so people like him. And maybe he’d be okay with that, if it was just random people on the street that he could ignore. But it’s his parents who only really accept him if he’s not overtly gay and his grandma who thinks he’s too much and his aunts who vote against his basic rights and so he really doesn’t feel very loved at all.

Instead, he feels like he needs to pretend to be someone different, like he has to be careful not to step on people’s toes, like he’s a bit too much sometimes. Until, one day, he’s so done with pretending that he can’t take it anymore.

So he learns to love himself. He learns to give himself all the unconditional love he should have gotten from his mother and his father and his grandma and his aunts. He loves himself for being a bit eccentric, for sticking out, for always being kind, for loving with his whole heart, for being gay.

And he finds people who love him for exactly who he is. Lovely people who embrace everything about him. People who never make him feel like he’s too much or should tone himself down but who appreciate him for unapologetically being who he is.

And with time, his parents get better at being supportive. His mum tries her best to be there for him, to make him feel comfortable, to show him that she loves him. His dad tries his best to ask him after his boyfriends when he comes home, to offer advice and be excited about his relationships. His grandma stops telling him he’s too eccentric and instead starts complimenting him on his colourful shirts. Even his aunts start to be more willing to listen to him when he talks about the struggles of gay people.

And just like Hans is making the people around him feel loved and appreciated, he also starts to feel more loved. He is loved by his family, who accepts him more with each day, and by his flatmates, who would be lost without him, and by his friends, who are always there for him, and most importantly, he is loved by himself. Fully, unconditionally, because he’s himself and he won’t change for anyone. He loves himself for that.


	13. Linn – The Puzzle of Yourself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Linn appreciation week! I'm sorry for the delay but I was partying (virtually, with stickers). This is also quite short but it felt complete like this, so here we go. 
> 
> I don’t know who gave me the word puzzle in the survey I did at the very beginning of these appreciation weeks, but it was my favourite answer out of all of them, so I just had to use it. 
> 
> I also projected on Linn with this one because I’m keeping myself occupied by doing puzzles at the moment. 10/10 would recommend.

**Linn – The Puzzle of Yourself**

There’s lots of things that Linn loves. She loves cooking, her friends, spending an entire day in her pyjamas, house plants and listening to music that drowns out the world. But most of all, Linn loves doing puzzles.

She loves looking at all the different pieces, pieces that mean nothing on their own, and figuring out how they go together. She loves when she starts a new puzzle and there’s a whole day full of entertainment and opportunity in front of her. She loves when she’s making progress and she can see the first few distinct shapes come together. And she loves when she can put in the last piece and finally look at the whole picture, see the completed puzzle. Really, Linn just loves every part of puzzling.

Some days, Linn feels like she herself is a puzzle. A puzzle to the world, a puzzle to the people closest to her, a puzzle even to her own mind. Some days, she feels like she can’t figure herself out. Other days, she knows exactly who she is. She’s composed of a million different parts, of a million puzzle pieces.

There’s the part of her that wants to stay inside all day long and never talk to another person again. There’s the part of her that wants to go outside and meet people and have adventures. There’s the part of her that is filled to the brim with curiosity about the world. There’s the part of her that wants to know everything. There’s the part of her that just wants to hide from the world.

And somehow, all of her parts are coexisting. It shouldn’t work but they fit into each other like pieces of a puzzle and together, they make her complete. They make her who she is.

She’s kind to the people in her life, always giving them space. She’s helpful, giving people a place to come to if they need some calm. She’s silent, preferring to observe the world rather than make noise in it. She’s curious, always open to learn new things. She’s a little weird and a little different but she loves herself that way. She’s just discovering all the puzzle pieces of herself.


	14. Mohammed – There's Beauty in Softness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit late and a bit short but I had a stressful day and as much as I love Mohammed, I realised we don't know nearly enough about him. But here is his appreciation fic! I hope you're all doing well and if you're not, I hope you will soon. Mohammed is cheering us on.

**Mohammed – There’s Beauty in Softness**

Mohammed has learned everything he knows from his family. His mother has taught him how to find the positive in every situation, how to mend his clothes and how to cheer people up if they’re down. His father has taught him to always be kind, how valuable it can be to make others laugh and how to make the best baklava in the entire world. His younger siblings have taught him how to be sweet and open towards the world and how to hide things so no one will ever, ever find them.

So that’s what he sticks to. He tries to be kind and openhearted and bring some joy into the lives of the people he meets. He doesn’t always succeed, can’t always be happy and joyful either, but he tries to be a positive force in the world. He wants to make a change, to have an impact, even if it’s only on a few people. He tries to give the world everything he wishes to see in it, even if, sometimes, he feels like he’s spectacularly failing at it.

There’s the bad days, where he misses his father so much it hurts everywhere or he feels like he’ll never find his place in the world again. Where he doesn’t know who he is or where he belongs or even who he wants to be. Where he just feels really, really lost.

Some days, it’s like he’s stuck somewhere in between. Stuck between missing his home and trying to make a new one, stuck between missing his father and cherishing the memories, stuck between falling in love and being scared of just how fast and far he’s fallen. He feels like he’ll never get out. But he always does. 

Because there’s also the joyful days, where he spends hours goofing around with Mohammed and Essam, where he talks to Amira and his entire stomach turns into butterflies, where he’s content and happy from his head to his toes. Where he knows exactly how to find the beauty in the world.

He’s still trying to figure it out, trying to figure out who to be and how to be. He’s still trying to find his place and his purpose. Some days, he’s stuck trying to find his way back to himself but he’s made his peace with that. If there’s one thing he’s found, it’s his people.

Mohammed has learned everything he knows from his family. Now, he’s starting to learn from the other people in his life. Amira teaches him how to be fierce and stand his ground. Omar teaches him how to show other people all the appreciation he has for them. Essam teaches him how to be carefree and joke around and defy other people’s expectations. And Mohammed starts to see that while he can learn from every little beautiful thing he encounters, he can also teach other people something about beauty.


	15. Leonie – Fierce Warrior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, Leonie is a lesbian in this one! 
> 
> I don't really know what else to say except for: this is kind of weird but I don't hate it. I hope you don't either.

**Leonie – Fierce Warrior**

Leonie is fierce. She fights for what she wants and she knows exactly what that is. She knows exactly who _she_ is. She has her opinions and her beliefs and she won’t negotiate them. She won’t negotiate who she is or change herself for anyone. She can always rely on herself. She loves her name because it means lioness and that’s exactly who she sees herself as.

Leonie is fiercely protective of the people in her life. When anyone tells Hanna that she should lose weight, Leonie is at her side and ready to fight whoever said something. When Sara is unhappy because of Matteo, all she wants is to confront Matteo and make him appreciate Sara for everything she is. When David gets a bad grade at film school, she’s ready to march in there and argue his teacher to the ground.

Leonie is fiercely loyal. That’s why, when Hanna goes behind her back and kisses Jonas, she can’t forgive her, no matter how many times Hanna apologises. It’s why she’ll never be able to fully forgive her, because Hanna used her loyalty and betrayed her. But it’s also why she’ll stick with the people who are loyal to her forever. It’s why, when she makes a friend, she’ll stand by their side and help them with anything.

Leonie is fiercely intelligent. She knows what she’s good at and she knows that logical thinking is among these things. She’s good at figuring out things, at finding solutions and solving problems. She’s good at school but she’s also intelligent outside of school. She knows how to get what she wants. She knows how to navigate the world, inside and outside. 

Leonie is fiercely proud. She’s proud of the things she accomplishes, whether that’s an assignment for school or a piece of art she makes for herself. She’s proud of how fierce she is, proud of being protective and loyal and intelligent. She’s proud of being a lesbian and so she goes to celebrate Pride with her girlfriend. Because she’s proud of who she is.

Leonie is fiercely brave. Sometimes, she runs head first into things because of that, but sometimes, bravery is exactly what she needs. She’s not afraid of doing things that might be hard, of putting herself out there. She’s brave enough to outgrow herself and open up to people, even if she’s been hurt before. She’s brave and passionate and always ready to stick up for herself or others.

Leonie is fierce. She’ll fight for you if you let her and if you’ll fight for her in return. She’ll stick up for you and defend you and stay with you. She’ll solve any puzzle or problem. She knows who she is and she’s proud of it with everything she has.

Everything Leonie does is fierce because it’s at the core of who she is. It runs through her veins, makes her who she is. It might not always be good, might sometimes lead to fights or disappointments. But Leonie wouldn’t give up her fierceness for anything.


	16. Essam – A Matter of Fitting In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It somehow feels like forever since I posted one of these? And yet, it's only been two weeks. Time is so weird sometimes. 
> 
> Anyway, here's Essam! Not my best work because I don't have a lot of time at the moment but I do actually like it and it made me wish for an Essam season even more. (He's new gen, right? There's a chance? Please??)

**Essam – A Matter of Fitting In**

Essam has always wanted to fit in. He has always tried really hard to get people to like him, to accept him how he is or to change the parts of him that other people don’t like if he has to. He wants nothing more than to belong, to feel like he’s a part of something. Like he matters.

He wants to be funny, to make other people laugh just by saying the right words. And sure, sometimes they do and sometimes people even tell him that he’s really funny or that they love his humour. But he’s never funny enough. There’s funnier people out there, people who get more laughs and more appreciation, people who are just effortlessly funny.

He wants to be kind, to help others and be a positive influence on the people around him. And sure, sometimes he remembers that he should get up for older people on public transport and sometimes he helps people cross the street and sometimes he helps his siblings hide something from their parents. But he’s never kind enough. There’s kinder people out there, more admired people, people who don’t have to try so hard to be kind.

He wants to be brave, to dare to do things and do them with his whole heart. And sure, sometimes he stands up for other people even if he’s scared and sometimes he manages to ask out girls despite the inevitable rejection and sometimes he feels like he’s on top of the world. But he’s never brave enough. There’s braver people out there, more adventurous people, people for whom being brave isn’t so damn much of an effort.

It takes him a while to realise that everyone around him is also just pretending. That the people who seem so funny and so kind and so brave are also just people who are trying to fit in and be liked. That there will always be people who are funnier and kinder and braver and it doesn’t mean he can’t be all of that and more.

Essam has always wanted to fit in. He has always tried really hard to get people to like him, to accept him how he is or to change the parts of him that other people don’t like if he has to. After he’s bleached his hair and tried to be quieter because people have told him he’s too loud and tried to be less annoying to the people in his life even though he doesn’t understand what about him annoys them so much, he still feels like he doesn’t fit in. He still feels like he needs to pretend really hard to be liked.

But he realises eventually that it doesn’t matter. He can change himself as much as he want, there will always be people who don’t like him or think he’s too loud or too annoying. And he looks around him and sees that he’s surrounded by people who think he’s incredibly funny, immeasurably kind and unbelievably brave. He won’t always fit in and he won’t always be liked or admired but he will always have people around him who do like and admire him and he will always know, from the bottom of his heart, that he matters.


	17. Alex – Out Of Hiding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had a bit of a bad day, so this is essentially a big mess. (Like Alex in season 1.) But I hope it still somehow makes sense and you enjoy it!

**Alex – Out Of Hiding**

Alex is good at hiding himself. He’s popular and outspoken and loud, no question. He’s known by everyone and anyone at school, though mostly as the arrogant, distant rich guy. He makes himself known, by sleeping with too many girls and being held back a year and always being where the party is. But he doesn’t feel known, not at all. He feels like he’s all façade, and underneath it he doesn’t even truly know himself.

It’s not until he meets Mia that he even wants to be known at all. But she sees right through him, right through his front of being stone cold and not caring about anything. She makes him _feel_ things, for the first time in ages. More than that, she makes him want to feel things, to have someone beside him who he can talk to.

It’s not easy, opening up. It’s excruciatingly painful at times. It scares him, letting someone see him, see all the parts of himself that he’s hidden away so carefully. But Mia makes him want to try. She makes him want to tell her every thought he’s ever had, every little thing that’s ever happened to him. She makes him want to tell her everything, all the good and bad things, even if it’s hard sometimes.

She brings out the silly side of him. She makes him joke around, make a fool of himself in the hopes of getting even just a tiny bit of laughter out of her. She makes him let go of things, have a little fun and be a little reckless. But she also makes him consider who he is and how he behaves towards others more. She makes him want to try to be kinder. She makes him want to have a more positive impact on the world.

It’s exhilarating, having someone there who sees him for who he is. Who challenges him and makes him feel known and loved. It’s a nice feeling, not having to hide constantly, not having to put up a façade and pretend. It’s something he could get used to.

Alex starts to open up not just to Mia but also to the other people in his life. He talks to Sam, about everything that’s happened and how it’s made him feel. He reaches out to his parents, to reconcile with them after what happened. He meets Mia’s friends and gets along with them. He doesn’t try as hard to hide everything.

When he starts business school, Alex is still the rich, slightly arrogant guy. He’s still cold and distant sometimes. But he’s also more open. He makes friends, people he truly likes spending time with, people he can talk to if all things go to hell. He feels more known, jokes around more, lets people see more of himself. He’s not so scared of being seen anymore. He’s more comfortable around other people, comfortable enough to let them in. Because he’s done with hiding. 


	18. Sara – The Comfort of Being Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! This is early, not because I'm good at planning all of a sudden but because I don't have time the rest of the weekend. (Really, this is all an illusion, I'm uploading this stressed out as ever.) But I hope you enjoy!

**Sara – The Comfort of Being Alone**

Sara is popular, happy, easy-going. She makes friends easily. She's liked by most people. She does well in school. Really, her life should be perfect. But her boyfriend turned out to be gay and her father lost his job and sometimes, Sara just feels really alone and overwhelmed. 

She throws herself into her relationships, into whatever project she can come up with. She throws herself into school work, into her application for acting school, into decorating her new, smaller room. She tries not to think about how lonely she gets sometimes and how she just wants to fit in seamlessly, not always have to try so hard. 

But she sees the people around her, so carefree and happy, with seemingly no effort behind it. She sees Leonie who knows exactly what she wants and how to get it and she can't help but feel a little jealous. She sees David who just came to their school and already fell in love and is really happy in his relationship and she can't help but feel a little sad. She sees Matteo who is finally free to be who he is and show it to everyone with pride and she can't help but feel a little lonely.

But she finds comfort in her music, in singing out her soul and all her feelings with it. She finds comfort in the melodies and the words that seem like they were written just for her. She finds comfort in singing for herself and singing for others. Music feels like it was made to make her feel better, to make her feel whole again.

She finds comfort in Leonie, her best friend. Leonie, who's always there for her, who's her anchor. Who listens to her and supports her. Who lets her listen and support her in return. There's serious conversations and there's goofing around and laughing and telling each other the silliest stories. She loves both. 

She finds comfort in herself, finally. She finds comfort in her own strength, in believing in herself and what she can do. She finds comfort in loving herself, giving herself enough love to last a lifetime. She starts to spend more time alone, on her own, and she finds comfort in that too. Of all the things, that's what she's been missing the most and even if it takes some times, she finds her way back to herself, to becoming who she wants to be. 

Sara is popular, happy, easy-going. She makes friends easily. She's liked by most people. She does well in school. And yet, her life is far from perfect. It doesn't need to be. Sara tries her best and she reaches out to the people around her and builds bridges. She opens up, lets herself be a little lonely and a little sad but also lets in the people who want to help, lets in the laughter and the happiness. She used to hate nothing more than being alone but now she embraces it. She loves getting to know herself. 


	19. Omar – The Heart of a Big Brother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost the end of the appreciation weeks, isn't that sad? I can't believe it's been half a year already. But anyway, here's Omar.
> 
> This is very focused on him being a brother because we only really saw him as that. It's also a bit influenced by my own relationship to my younger sister, make of that what you want. I hope you enjoy!

**Omar – The Heart of a Big Brother**

There is nothing Omar loves more than joking around with his little siblings. They’ve always been insufferable, as soon as they started walking and talking. Amira is the one who comes up with the elaborate plans for their pranks and Essam is the one who comes up with the most crazy ideas. It’s always fun, even if it drives their parents insane, and it always makes Omar feel especially close it his siblings. Except when they band together against him, which is infuriating. And lovely, to see them so close.

There is nothing Omar loves more than listening to his little siblings. Listening to them telling him about whatever they’ve done that day or about an especially exciting film they’ve watched or a random fact they’ve learned. They’ve always done it, told him about everything that’s made them happy. But they’ve also come to him when they had problems, when they needed someone to talk to. They still do, occasionally, and he’s always there for them and listens as best he can.

There is nothing Omar loves more than annoying his little siblings. It used to be so easy, when they were younger and all he had to do was say the opposite of what they wanted to hear. Now it’s more about teasing them when he knows they can take it and leaving them alone when he knows they can’t. And he still knows exactly what will drive them up the walls.

There is nothing Omar loves more than making his little siblings laugh. When they were all younger, he could tell them joke after joke and they’d laugh at every one, sometimes even at the same one twice. Now, he has to try a little harder, come up with a little more elaborate jokes. Sometimes, he misses the times where they would worship him just for being the oldest, where they would find anything that he said funny. But he also loves seeing them grow up and grow into themselves.

There is nothing Omar loves more than being there for his little siblings. He supports Amira with her dream of going to Australia and he supports Essam when he’s trying a little too hard to fit in. He is there to help them but also to distract them if that’s what they need. He writes them both a song, to tell them how much he appreciates them and how much they mean to him. (Amira tells him his writing skills are terrible and Essam laughs for a minute but he knows what they really mean is that they love him.)

There is nothing Omar loves more than his little siblings.


	20. Stefan – The Pretentiousness of Hummus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last character appreciation fic, can you believe it?? I certainly can't. How has it been half a year already but also only half a year? 
> 
> Don't ask about the title of this one, I just found it funny. And it's really not based on much because we know barely anything but here's Stefan. I hope you enjoy!

**Stefan – The Pretentiousness of Hummus**

Stefan loves hummus. If he could only eat one food for the rest of his life, it would be hummus. It’s just perfect. And he knows it turns him into a bit of a stereotype, that it makes him _that_ type of guy, but he’s fine with that.

Sure, he can be a little pretentious. He likes to make himself known, to show people what he knows and what he’s good at. Sometimes, in a conversation, he can’t help himself from mentioning that he finished school with great grades or that he’s doing important humanitarian work now. What harm does a little pretentiousness do?

Really, he’s just a bit insecure and tries to cover it up by pretending to know everything. The thought of people seeing through his front and maybe not liking him is not a thought he’s particularly comfortable with. So he tries to not let them see, to seem secure and happy and like he knows exactly what he’s doing.

And he can be a tad self-opiniated. He likes to think of himself as well informed and educated and sometimes, he just can’t help but explain things that he finds particularly interesting to anyone who will listen. He’s always up for a discussion because he knows his opinions and can stand his ground.

Because Stefan knows who he is. At his core, he’s a kind person who wants to help people and make them happy. He tries his best to be nice and funny and if sometimes, he tries a little too much, that is alright. He also learns to be more vulnerable and listen more to what others say, challenge his opinions a bit more. He pays more attention to the world around him, to turning it into a better place. He starts to be more himself, be more open, find people who appreciate him. He spends a little less time pretending and a little more time just being who he is. And it makes him so much happier.

Stefan still loves hummus. He’s still a little pretentious and a bit insecure and a tad self-opinionated. But he’s also more than that. He can be confident and kind and open-hearted. And he’s always open to learning more and becoming a better version of himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you next week for the finale?


	21. Sweet Potato – The Symbolism of Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the end! Can you believe it? Six months later and here we are. This is by far the weirdest fic of them all but it was a lot of fun to write. 
> 
> The fic is heavily inspired by the song "Our Twisted Fate" from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. It's a brilliant song, I highly recommend checking it out.

**Sweet Potato – The Symbolism of Love**

Sweet Potato is sick and tired of being a motive for other people’s love lives. It starts with Hanna and Jonas. Joking around and flirting and being all cute. As if they invented nicknames and being in love. Sweet Potato thinks it’s disgusting. She’s so much more than just a symbol for other people’s love.

Then, there’s Mia and Kiki. That one’s not romantic love and it doesn’t include quite as much flirting. But Sweet Potato is still not on board with how, suddenly, her existence is used as a metaphor, a symbol, a motive. And somehow, it’s supposed to be sweet because it shows how love is so much more than just romantic love? Not with Sweet Potato.

Really, all Sweet Potato wants is to just be left alone. Be a normal vegetable that gets to have a normal life of being grown and bought and cooked. But no, of course that’s not what she gets. What she gets is a lot more meaning than she ever wanted in their life. A lot more weight on her shoulders, when she has to be a symbol for other people’s love.

But suddenly people are writing interpretations and pointing out details and writing about just what Sweet Potato means. That’s when she realises it’s not just about romantic love or friendship. It’s about love for stories and symbolism and interpretations. It’s about love for these people’s love and life. It’s about love for her, for being a symbol and being meaningful.

And maybe, Sweet Potato doesn’t hate being a symbol that much. Maybe she actually quite likes it. Maybe she really loves uniting people and bringing meaning to their life. And at least, when they take their annoying selfies with her, she looks beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All that's left to say is thank you! Thank you for reading and leaving kudos and commenting! I love you all so much. <3


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